Arsenal see door opened to £48m Nico Williams transfer deal

Barcelona were the favourites to sign Nico Williams from Athletic Bilbao last year but the newly-crowned La Liga champions are now prioritising other targets in a boost for Arsenal

Barcelona have opened the door for Arsenal to sign Nico Williams after cooling their interest in the Athletic Bilbao star. Williams, 22, was courted by Barca last summer after helping Spain win the European Championship.

The winger scored La Roja's winning goal in the final against England and a move to Barcelona was on the cards. A deal didn't materialise, however, with Barca choosing to spend their limited funds on his international team-mate, Dani Olmo.

Williams, who's demanding £300,00 per week, remained linked with a number of other clubs, including Arsenal, but ultimately stayed put. The 22-year-old has enjoyed another impressive season in the Basque country, scoring 11 goals and providing seven assists.

Understood to have a €58million (£49m) release clause in his Bilbao contract, Arsenal have kept tabs on Williams' situation and new sporting director Andrea Berta is claimed to have already held talks to gauge his interest. Now there's one less team rivalling them in the race after Barcelona president Joan Laporta made the LaLiga champions' stance clear.

"Nico Williams was one of the candidates last season, but we decided on Olmo," Laporta told TV3. "And other options are currently being considered."

Part of Barca's change of tack is down to the form of Raphinha. On the verge of leaving last summer, the Brazilian has been outstanding this season to help the Catalan giants win a domestic treble.

With 17-year-old sensation Lamine Yamal on the other flank, it's hard to imagine any winger in the world displacing the pair. Arsenal, on the other hand, have plenty of cash to spend, as hinted at by both Mikel Arteta and co-chairman Josh Kroenke.

"We plan to invest to get behind winning and doing better next season," Kroenke wrote in his programme notes ahead of Sunday's 1-0 win against Newcastle which secured Champions League qualifciation. "We're delighted we have our sporting director, Andrea who will play an important role in this."

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Arteta has also promised a 'very exciting summer', telling Sky Sports last week: "First of all, reviewing what we have done. Finding ways to increase the level of the team.

"Finding big margins where we can still develop our game model and our players, then putting those plans together, playing the pre-season. And then if we don't have enough from that, then it's about what do we need to recruit now to make the difference."

Asked about his conversations with Berta, the Gunners boss replied: "Since day one, when we were interviewing for that role. And he had it in front of him, it was very clear that this is, for me, what this squad needs to go to the next level.

"And we were very aligned. And you can tell - the experience he has, he's built great squads and the major trophies he's won - someone with that clarity is very, very helpful."